The New Zealander Building Africa's Next Cities

How a fortune forged in post-Soviet Russia is financing the construction of Africa's next generation of satellite cities.

contributor:sstonelabs@gmail.com • Profile • 2026-02-17

In the sprawling outskirts of Africa's booming capitals, a quiet, determined New Zealander is undertaking one of the most ambitious real estate ventures on the planet. Stephen Jennings, a man who forged a multi-billion-dollar fortune in the chaotic crucible of post-Soviet Russia, has turned his attention to a new frontier. Through his firm Rendeavour, he is the master developer behind more than 30,000 acres of new satellite cities in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s a venture on a scale that blurs the lines between property development, private governance, and nation-building, driven by a figure as enigmatic as he is ambitious.

From Russia with Money

Jennings’ story begins not in the corporate boardrooms of London or New York, but in the rural town of Taranaki, New Zealand. Armed with a master’s degree in economics, his early career at Credit Suisse First Boston saw him advising on the privatization of state-owned assets. This work eventually led him to Moscow in 1992, at the dawn of Russia’s turbulent transition to a market economy.

In 1995, he founded Renaissance Capital, an investment bank that would become a titan of the “Wild East.” Nicknamed the “Kiwi Oligarch,” Jennings was known for an aggressive leadership style he modeled after New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team: “in your face: muscular, fierce, fast and intimidating.” The approach worked. By 2008, his stake in the firm was valued at an estimated $3.5 billion. But the tide was turning. The 2008 financial crisis and a shifting political climate under Vladimir Putin, which favored state-owned banks, squeezed out private players. After what was described as a “lonely exit” from the firm he built, and with legal battles related to the controversial breakup of Yukos Oil Company still shadowing him, Jennings sold his remaining Russian assets in 2013 and looked for his next frontier.

The Pivot to Africa

He found it in Africa. Jennings saw a continent on the cusp of a demographic and economic explosion, with a critical flaw: its cities were failing. “Proper planning and controls really broke down in the ’60s,” Jennings explained in an interview. “The cities are clogged, the service levels are poor, the planning has been almost nonexistent.” With Africa’s urban population set to double to 1.4 billion by 2050, he identified a monumental challenge—and an equally monumental opportunity.

His solution is Rendeavour, now the largest urban land developer in Africa. The model is deceptively simple. Rendeavour acts as a master developer, acquiring vast, often peri-urban, tracts of land and investing heavily in the essential infrastructure—power, water, waste, and ICT—that governments have failed to provide. With this foundation in place, the firm then sells serviced plots to individuals, developers, and companies. The goal is to create large-scale, mixed-use, mixed-income communities that are predictable, secure, and self-sustaining.

Jennings calls it a “first cousin to a charter city,” a pragmatic approach that delivers the benefits of private governance without the intractable political challenge of ceding sovereignty. The portfolio is continent-spanning, featuring flagship projects like the 5,000-acre Tatu City in Kenya, the 2,000-acre Alaro City in Nigeria, and the 2,325-acre Appolonia City in Ghana.

The Tatu City Saga: Promise and Peril

Tatu City, located just outside Nairobi, is Rendeavour’s most advanced and visible project. Designated as a Special Economic Zone, it has become a magnet for investment, attracting over $3.5 billion and hosting more than 100 companies, including Heineken, Dormans, and global logistics firms. Every day, 25,000 people live, work, or study within its borders, attending its four schools or living in its thousands of homes, which range from starter apartments to lakeside mansions.

But its success has made it a target. The project has been mired in controversy, most notably a series of high-profile clashes with local politicians over alleged extortion. Rendeavour’s Kenya country head, Preston Mendenhall, has taken the unusual and risky step of publicly accusing powerful officials of demanding free land in exchange for permits. “A few years ago, a governor drove around with us, just pointing at different plots of land, saying ‘I want that, I want that,’” Mendenhall recounted. The company’s defiance has resulted in multiple defamation lawsuits, but Mendenhall remains steadfast. “We’re looking at a 50-year time horizon,” he stated. “For us to challenge somebody... who is trying to extort us... we believe that’s the right thing to do.”

This willingness to fight back, born from the founders’ experience in the “free-for-all of 1990s Russia,” appears to be a core part of the company’s strategy. While the battles are costly and complex, Rendeavour has outlasted some of its antagonists; one of the first governors who allegedly targeted them is now in prison on an unrelated corruption charge.

A Legacy Under Construction

Stephen Jennings is a man of contradictions. He is a visionary city-builder and a shrewd capitalist, a nation-builder and a defendant in a London court. His supporters see a force for progress, bringing order, investment, and world-class infrastructure to a continent in desperate need. His critics, however, point to a dismal 1.8 out of 100 score on the 2024 Urban Benchmark for sustainability and transparency, and see a neo-colonialist playbook that profits from state failure.

Living in Tatu City himself, Jennings is betting his legacy on this African venture. He is building the hardware for the 21st-century African metropolis, creating environments where businesses can thrive and a growing middle class can find a quality of life previously unattainable. Whether these new cities will become inclusive engines of broad prosperity or fortified islands of private privilege is a question that will take decades to answer. What is certain is that the quiet Kiwi who conquered Russia is now reshaping the physical and economic landscape of Africa, one city at a time.